Stories from Wednesday, May 16, 2018

The Newell-Fonda Community School District’s Board of Directors met Monday evening to address several discussions items. Among its discussion and action items were Fonda ballfields, day care remodeling and summer school. After the May 2 Fonda City Council meeting, the Board of Directors discussed the possibility of deeding the Fonda ballfields over to the school district, according to Rob Olsen, superintendent. ...

The plans are finalized for the Memorial Day celebration in Aurelia on Monday, May 28. The program will be held in the Alta-Aurelia Community Middle School gym at 10:30 a.m. The Gettysburg Address will be read by Simon Carlson. In Flanders Field and the response will be by Kasha Brown and Pegan Owens. Pastor Rapp of First Congregational Church wIll deliver the invocatIon and benediction...

Storm Lake Public Safety (Police and Fire) welcomed this morning a new chaplain to the organization Tuesday. Chaplain Alan Cummins joined public safety as a volunteer chaplain for the fire and police departments. Chaplain Alan joins Chaplain Howard Avery as the second volunteer chaplain on staff with Storm Lake Public Safety...

It’s out with the old and in with the new at the Buena Vista County Sheriff’s Department. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday authorized the disposal of old equipment and the purchase of new equipment for the county jail. Kory Elston, county sheriff, got permission from the board to either find a bid for an old maintenance truck or dispose of it through salvage, as he saw fit. ...

Beginning May 21 and until June 3, State and local law enforcement agencies across the United States will be stepping up enforcement with the Click It or Ticket campaign. This concentrated effort will be on the lookout for motorists who aren’t wearing their seat belts. ...

What is happening with DACA? Is TPS still available? The American Association of University Women of Storm Lake will be presenting and Immigration Update at Better Day Cafe on May 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. This event will be presented by Marie-Ann Sennett, Immigration Attorney and Sara Huddleston, Leagl Assistant...

On the evening of Sunday, May 13, at approximately 7:40 p.m. a Storm Lake Police Officer stopped a vehicle near the intersection of C49 and Prairie Road for a traffic violation. Upon contacting the driver identified as Jared Grow, age 41 of Newell, police allege he exited the vehicle and did not cooperate with police. Upon being taken into custody he resisted officers and was subdued...

ACCIDENTS On May 3, at approximately 2:45 p.m., in the 500 block of Lake Ave. in Storm Lake, a vehicle driven by Charles Martin of Storm Lake, struck a parked vehicle owned by Lisbette Chirino Rego of Algona. Total damages were estimate at $5500. ---------------------------------------------...

The annual Memorial Day potluck brunch will be held at the Nemaha shelter house immediately following the 8 a.m. special service at the Nemaha Cemetery.  All are welcome and are asked, if possible, to bring a dish to share and table service.  Coffee will be furnished.  Much reminiscing is sure to follow...

Habitat for Humanity of Buena Vista County proudly accepted a $1,915 grant from the Buena Vista County Foundation in the 2018 Spring Awards on May 5. The money was then used at Storm Lake’s Bomgaars to purchase an array of needed tools for the construction site. ...

The Iowa Master Gardener program with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will host a trio of Growing Season webcasts this summer. Master Gardeners will gain educational hours while learning about insects, tree care, organic vegetables, composting and growing roses...

Buena Vista University has been ranked among the top five “Best Online Colleges” in Iowa. The rankings are done by the SR Education Group, an education research publisher founded in 2004. “This ranking is based on value. We manually researched every regionally accredited online college in the state, taking into account both tuition and academic strength in order to determine the best value schools for students,” said Kelsey D’Ewart, of the Washington State-based organization...

The Judicial Nominating Commission for the 3AJudicial District has nominated District Associate Judge Charles Kenneth Borth of Spencer, and Attorney Conrad Francis Meis of Algona, for the judgeship created by the retirement of Judge Patrick M. Carr in July of 2017...

The Iowa Department of Transportation has unveiled the draft for a new five-year, $3.4 billion plan for state and interstate highway construction projects from 2019-2023. The highway program continues to be bolstered by a 10-cent per gallon fuel tax increase implemented in 2015. ...

Applications are now open for the Buena Vista County Fair Queen and Little Miss Contests, and a new Little Mr. contest that will be added this year. Entries must be received or postmarked by June 15. The Fair is July 7-11 at the fairgrounds in Alta...

The 37 club, a book club founded in 1937, has installed a Little Free Library in the Clough Memorial Garden on Lake Avenue. The mission of the Little Free Library is to inspire a love of reading and create a sense of community through the sharing of literature. It is a creative, fun gathering place for individuals to share books...

The Barefoot Bar at Okoboji is planning a big concert for Saturday, July 14 with Coyote Wild. Showtime is 7 p.m. Country music has had a massive influence in the history of rock music, and rock music has changed the direction of country. You can enjoy both with Coyote Wild, a fearless team of musicians and singers who perform country and rock the way they were meant to be played! Whether you are a devotee of classic rock or a true country fan at heart, Coyote Wild brings you the best of both worlds.. ...

Blink 182 and American Authors will be in Sioux City at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on May 30 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at ticket.hardrockcasinosiouxcity.com. Tickets start at $53 for general admission. Since their humble beginnings 25 years ago, when they started playing in a San Diego garage, ‘Blink-182’ have sold over fifty million albums worldwide and rocked audiences from Adelaide to Zurich having become one of the defining rock bands of their generation. ...

Adam Layman and Jacob Wittkamp will be performing at Innspiration Winery on June 3 from 3 to 5 p.m. Enjoy live music and wine. Innspiration Winery is located at 5079 180th Ave, Linn Grove.

Janet Simonsen Brown, who grew up in Quimby, will be signing copies of her new book, “Why Did God Make Bubbles?” (subtitled “Excuse Me, Sir, But You Are Sitting On My Mother”) at The Book Vine, 204 West Main Street in Cherokee from 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. this Saturday, May 19...

ALBERT CITY —Makayla Bjork, a senior and member of the National Honor Society (NHS) at Sioux Central, has been named one of 500 national semifinalists in the National Honor Society Scholarship program.  Makayla was chosen from more than 11,000 applicants and will receive a $2,850 scholarship...

On Monday, May 14, Hy-noon Kiwanis celebrated the accomplishments of the top academic students in Junior High and High School in both the Storm Lake public school and St. Mary’s School. The honor went to the top boy and the top girl in each class. The speaker was Tanner Hoops from BVU. ...

Crystal Lopez, a senior at Storm Lake High School has been named the 2018 recipient of the Storm Lake P.E.O Scholarship. Crystal will be honored at the P.E.O Founder’s Day event on June 12. Crystal, the daughter of Gerardo and Josefina Lopez was chosen from an outstanding field of applicants from Storm Lake and St. Mary’s high schools. She plans to attend Buena Vista University majoring in art and digital media...

Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, presented bachelor’s degrees to undergraduate students during its 120th spring commencement held on May 12. Morningside is a private, coeducational, four-year liberal arts college with a total enrollment of 2,800 students...

A tradition of several years took on a special meaning Sunday at St. Mary’s graduation, which happened to fall on Mother’s Day. In an emotional moment, each graduate delivered a rose to his or her mother in the audience. Commencement speaker John Meyer, a 1968 St. Mary’s graduate and retired vice president of Sprint Nextel Corporation, flew in from his home in Florida to address the 19 graduates, noting that occasion flooded him with memories...

Western Iowa Congressman Steve King is in favor of actions like the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Mt. Pleasant, in which 32 illegal aliens were taken into custody, rocking the community. In a KCCI TV interview which King then posted on his Congressional website and Facebook page, King said the arrested people chose to come into the country illegally...

A Storm Lake man won two prizes totaling $18,500 in one drawing of the Iowa Lottery’s Pick 4 game. Khamphanh Southiphong won his prizes in the May 3 evening drawing. He won a prize of $18,000 by matching all four numbers drawn in the exact order: 5-1-7-0; this is known as a straight play. He won an additional $500 prize for matching all four numbers drawn in any order. This is known as a box play...

Faced with a worker shortage, the Storm Lake Public Library is considering turning to interns. The Friends of the Library volunteer group has offered to cover pay cost for one intern during the summer months, but during a meeting of the board Monday, trustees saw some issues with such an agreement...

Senate drops the ball on sales tax extension, setback won’t stop SL school effort With the state legislature failing to take action on an extension of a penny sales tax for school infrastructure, the planning for a new Storm Lake Early Childhood Center soldiers on, leaning more heavily toward property tax for funding...

If Storm Lake Mayor Mike Porsch wanted input about the future of the downtown area, he received plenty. About 20 people attended the first of two informal meetings focusing on downtown, held at city hall Monday night. Those attending, including many of the downtown business owners and landlords, aired concerns, stressing practical matters like lights, parking and snow removal...

March 23, 1926 - May 12, 2018